Controls on EU immigration played a key role in the Brexit vote. However, the UK government now says that it wants to protect the free movement of researchers and talent, which are crucial for the life sciences sector. euractiv.com reports from Lyon.

All agreed that the main priority was to avoid disruptions in healthcare, which could have a wider impact on patients, both in the UK and the EU-27. They also agreed that certainty and “pragmatic solutions” are needed.

Biotechnology could help patients across Europe gain access to innovative therapies, for example, against rare diseases. Proponents of bio-medicines also claim that precision therapy, because it is more efficient, will ease the burden on member states’ ailing healthcare systems.

Life sciences in the UK

Emily Hamblin, a representative of the UK government and regional manager of the UK Science and Innovation Network for Western Europe, noted that life sciences are a hugely important sector in her country.

Roughly one in four of the most popular prescription medicines in the world are developed in the UK and 17 of the top 20 pharmaceutical companies have sites there.

For Hamblin, a key issue for the UK is to maintain its position as a place for innovators and investors.

She stressed that the priority should be to achieve an ambitious free trade agreement, in order to provide as much certainty as possible in the run-up to the Brexit.

“The UK government is currently developing a new industrial strategy […] science, innovation and research are at the heart of this strategy,” she said, adding that the government had decided to invest an additional 4.7 billion pounds in research and development.

“This is the biggest investment for 40 years and demonstrates the importance of the sector for the UK.”

Research and migration

However, access to EU researchers and “talents” after the Brexit seems to be a hot topic, seeing as controlling immigration from the EU was one of the central demands of the Brexit campaign.

Currently, one in six researchers in the UK are EU citizens and the UK government wants to keep access to that talent.

British Prime Minister Theresa May and European Council President Donald Tusk agreed yesterday (6 April) to try to lower tensions in upcoming Brexit talks, especially over issues such as Gibraltar.

“I want to be very clear: […] it’s recognised that it’s a priority and we want to protect that. But at this point, I cannot make any hypothesis about how we are going to do that,” Hamblin noted.

She acknowledged that having control over immigration from the EU was one of the key issues of the Brexit referendum but she underlined that access to talent and the freedom of movement is “essential for research and our businesses, it’s really a key”.

Another key issue is what will happen with the ongoing EU-funded programmes, which will end after Brexit. Hamblin said, “The UK has guaranteed funding through competitive European funding sources like Horizon 2020, so that the funding awarded for the best projects is guaranteed for the life of those projects. Even if the projects end after the day we leave the EU, which is a recognition of our need for certainty.”

Migration was the main motivation for almost half of Leave voters in the Brexit referendum, but areas with the most immigrants tended to vote Remain. EURACTIV’s partner La Tribune reports.

She did, however, dodge EURACTIV’s question on whether the UK government had calculated the financial cost of “losing” the European Medicines Agency.

Regulation close to the EU

Virginia Acha, Executive director of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, explained that for her sector the development of medicines should not be seen as a “wait and see” question and emphasised the need for “practical and pragmatic planning from now”.

“We are looking for as a close line to the EU regulation as we can arrive at. […] The partnership with Europe has been productive,” she said, stressing that the main priority is to ensure that the UK will have no problem in delivering medicines the day after it leaves the bloc.

“We should not have any patients who cannot get access to the medicines they need. […] That’s our primary goal,” she said, adding that the short timeframe for planning is the “common enemy”.

The British government will set out plans today (30 March) to convert European Union laws into domestic legislation to give “businesses, workers and consumers the certainty they need” as Britain exits the bloc.

She stressed that after the Brexit vote, regulation has suddenly become a “sexy discussion” and the government is very focused on the importance of it.

Regarding the medicines registration, she warned that Brussels and London cannot find a way to resolve this it would have an impact not just on British but also EU patients.

She said that the current regulatory approach already provides work-sharing arrangements (i.e. inspection work) across the EU regulators as part of the broader EU network.

“There is every opportunity to think about what these work-sharing arrangements could be in the future, to at least allow both Europe and the UK to continue benefiting from that network value,” she said.

The UK’s pharmaceutical regulator would lose influence over the European Medicines Agency (EMA) if Britons vote to leave the EU in a June referendum. As a result, it could well consider aligning itself with its US equivalent, sector advisors have told EURACTIV.com.

Business clarity

Andrew Packman, head of the UK pharmaceutical and life sciences business at PricewaterhouseCoopers, noted it was important for the industry to have clarity.

He said that regulation was particularly important but insisted that there were clear mutual interests in the EU and UK for a pragmatic solution to the issues of patient benefits.

“It is reasonable to be optimistic that a sensible approach will be reached soon and quickly,” he said. He emphasised that Brexit did not have to be the most significant thing in the world.

According to Packman, Brexit may even give the UK the opportunity to respond more quickly to a changing world. “Clearly, the industry needs the ability to plan for the very long term and there are a number of factors […] Our ability in the West to compete with Asia, the UK is likely to be the place to come to for Americans, for people from the Far East to approach Europe,” he said.

Referring to the advantages the EU would gain after Brexit, he said the bloc now had a real opportunity for closer integration, to promote its agenda more quickly and support of the euro.

But he insisted that there were more important things than Brexit.

“Frankly, what is going on in the US with the industry is much more important. If Trump brings in the US tax reform in the way he has expected that will have an enormous impact on the industry in Europe,” he noted.

EURACTIV's editorial content is independent from the views of our sponsors.

Media is a pillar of democracy – as long as it can function properly. Now more than ever we need unbiased, expert information on how and why the European Union functions. This information should not be behind a paywall, and we remain committed to providing our content for free.

We know our readers value our reporting. We know journalism that covers the EU in a clear, unbiased way is critical to the future of the European Union. And we know your support is critical for ensuring this independent and free journalism.

Don’t take the media sector for granted. It was already fragile before the coronavirus pandemic. And as people can’t meet, media companies have lost a major source of revenue: events. EURACTIV is supported by a mix of revenue streams including sponsorships, online advertising, EU-funded projects, and policy debates. All of these sources of revenue are impacted by the current crisis.

While media struggles, disinformation thrives. We are already seeing fearmongering, fake news about the EU response, and increased threats to freedom of the press.

For more than two decades we have provided free, independent, multilingual reporting on the European Union. We continue to believe in Europe, and we hope you do too.

Your financial support at this critical time will allow our network of newsrooms across Europe to continue their work when Europe needs it most.

Contribute to our reporting

The need for fast, accurate and balanced information is always important. We value EURACTIV's good, independent journalism and support this initiative

Mella Frewen, Director General of FoodDrinkEurope

EURACTIV plays a vital role in bringing Europe closer to its citizens. EURACTIV has long recognised that the story of Europe has to be told across the continent, and not just in Brussels. We need to support a truly European and informed debate.